Feasibility of using electrokinetics and nanomaterials to stabilize and improve collapsible soils

Loess as a subcategory of collapsible soils is a well-known aeolian deposit generally characterized as a highly-porous medium with relatively low natural density and water content and a high percentage of fine-grained particles.Such collapsible soil sustains large stresses under a dry condition with natural water content.However,it can experience high and relatively sudden decreases in its volume once it reaches a certain water content under a certain load and therefore,the natural condition of the soil might not be suitable for construction if the possibility of the exposure of the soil to excessive water exists during the lifetime of the project.This research presents the utilization of an innovative method for stabilization and improvement of Gorgan loessial soil.This method uses electrokinetics and nanomaterials to instigate additives to move through soil pores,as an in situ remedial measure.To assess the acceptability of this measure,the deformability and strength characteristics of the improved collapsible soil are measured and compared with those of the unimproved soil,implementing several unsaturated oedometer tests under constant vertical stress and varying matric suction.The result emphasizes the importance of the matric suction on the behavior of both improved and unimproved soils.The test results indicate that the resistance of the soil was highly dependent on the water content and matric suction of the soil.The oedometer tests on samples improved by 3%lime and 5%nanomaterials show considerable improvement of the collapse potential.Results also reveal that stabilized samples experience notably lower volume decrease under the same applied stresses.

Performance of Metal and Acid Ions Remediation in Contaminated Soils by Electrokinetics with Chitosan Permeable Reactive Barrier

Metal and acid ions contamination of soil in China is serious. To find an efficient solution for remediating the combined pollution,electrokinetics( EK) coupled with chitosan( CTS)permeable reactive barrier( EK/CPRB) was used to investigate the performances of metal and acid ions remediation. Adsorption characteristics of Zn^(2+),Fe^(3+),Ca^(2+),SO_4^(2-) and NO_3^- onto CTS were also conducted. The results showed the sorption of Zn^(2+),Fe^(3+),Ca^(2+),SO_4^(2-) and NO_3^- on CTS could be well described by Freundlich model. When the CTS dosage is 8 g,the total removal efficiency for Zn^(2+),Fe^(3+),Ca^(2+),SO_4^(2-) and NO_3^- is 86. 8%,90. 2%,92. 4%,90. 0% and 82. 5%,respectively. CTS enhanced ions remediation efficiencies significantly compared with the single EK system,especially for SO_4^(2-) and NO_3^-. The results indicate EK/CPRB system is suitable for the remediation of soil contaminated by both metal ions and acid ions.

Review of Electrogravitics &Electrokinetics Propulsion

Electrogravitics and electrokinetics can be traced to T. Townsend Brown’s first article “How I Control Gravity” (Science and Invention, 1929) with the unexplained alignment of the “molecular gravitors”. Brown reported that the dielectrics had high propulsive force when the “differently charged elements” were aligned with the voltage source. Perhaps electrogravitics was also revealed in the article “Gravity Nullified: Quartz Crystals Charged by High Frequency Currents Lose Their Weight” which appeared two years earlier in the same magazine in September of 1927. The editors had a change of heart however, in the following issue, they rescinded the article. Much of what we know about T. T. Brown is from his numerous patents and articles, reprinted inElectrogravitics Systems Volume I, by this author who was fortunate to correspond with him in 1981 when he was at the University of Florida. A sample of his detailed correspondence is contained in the out-of-print book,?Ether-Technology:?A Rational Approach to Gravity-Control?by Rho Sigma (1977) and in the recent?Defying Gravity:?The Parallel Universe of T. Townsend Brown,?Paul Schatzkin, (2009, Embassy Books). Also, a five-minute Brown-Bahnson Lab video online shows many of the experimental models that Brown developed toward 1960 with colleague Agnew Bahnson? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp4hygoD3RU).

Electrokinetics-magnetic/alkali Composite-modified Biochar for Remediation of Cd-contaminated soil

[Objectives]This study was conducted to explore the removal performance and mechanism of heavy metal Cd in soil by combining electrokinetic technology and modified biochar.[Methods]The electrokinetics-magnetic/alkali composite-modified biochar method was applied to remediate Cd-contaminated soil.[Results]When remediating the soil for 120 h under electric field strength of 2 V/cm with 0.1 mol/L citric acid as the electrolyte,the current periodically varied with the remediation time.Cd^2+in the soil dissociated and migrated from the soil surface,and the addition of the magnetic/alkali composite-modified biochar in the cathode area affected the hydrolysis balance of heavy metal Cd^2+ions and maintained soil pH in a low range.The exchangeable Cd content at the test sampling points near the cathode area was relatively high,and the organic Cd area was evenly distributed.The average removal rate of Cd in the soil was up to 90.31%.The hexagonal anode device configuration enhanced the electromigration performance and made the soil pH and conductivity change within a certain range,which was beneficial to the migration of Cd2+and improved the removal rate of soil heavy metal Cd.[Conclusions]This study provides a theoretical basis for the treatment of soil heavy metal pollution and the resource utilization of composite-modified biochar.

Hydrogel-Assisted Electrokinetics for High-Resolution and Non-invasive Flow Monitoring in Microfluidic Chips

Convenient non-invasive flow monitoring would facilitate the operation and control in microfluidic chips,but is challenging due to the small space of microchannels and complex operation required in traditional optical methods.In this work,we propose a novel non-invasive strategy to probe microfluidic flows via streaming potential phenomenon.By sealing one side of the microchannel with a piece of hydrogel film,streaming potential inside the channel can be clearly detected by electrodes at outer surface of the hydrogel due to ion diffusion in the hydrogel.Flow is detected without sensors contacting with the internal liquid.Moreover,the electrodes shape like a tiny probe,which can move around mapping the flow distribution in a chip with the spatial resolution of 1 mm and flow rate detection limit of 3μL·min–1.Bubbles inside the channels can also be detected,due to the fluctuation of streaming voltage when gas-liquid interface flows through the electrode,showing an easy and potential way for multi-functional flow monitoring in microfluidic chips.

Polychlorinated Biphenyls-contaminated Soil Washing with Mixed Surfactants Enhanced by Electrokinetics

On the basis of comparing the adsorption loss of different surfactants[single nonionic surfactant sorbitanmonooleatepolyoxyethylene ether（Tween 80）, anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate（SDBS）, and mixed surfactants Tween 80/SDBS（3：2）, Tween 80/SDBS（4：1）] and their performance in the enhancement of polychlorinated biphenyls（PCBs） desorption from soil, the impact of electric field intensity on the desorption of PCBs and the transport of surfactants in washing resulted solution were investigated in this study. With regard to the remedia- tion cost, 1000 mg/L mixed Tween 80/SDBS（3.＇2） was recognized as an optimum concentration in the remediation of PCBs-contaminated soil, because Tween 80/SDBS（3：2） had the highest washing capacity and relatively low adsorp- tion loss onto soil. Electrokinetics can enhance the washing efficiency of PCBs-contaminated soil by Tween 80/SDBS（3：2） effectively and safely at an electric field intensity of 1.5 V/cm for 10 d, for the desorption of PCBs was 1.57 times more than that without electrokinetics, and the most of organic residue in washing resulted solution was removed in an electrical field to avoid the possible secondary contamination risk.

Enhanced remediation of Cr(Ⅵ)-contaminated groundwater by coupling electrokinetics with ZVI/Fe_(3)O_(4)/AC-based permeable reactive barrier

Although widely used in permeation reaction barrier(PRB)for strengthening the removal of various heavy metals,zero-valent iron(ZVI)is limited by various inherent drawbacks,such as easy passivation and poor electron transfer.As a solution,a synergistic system with PRB and electrokinetics(PRB-EK)was established and applied for the efficient removal of Cr(Ⅵ)-contaminated groundwater.As the filling material of PRB,ZVI/Fe_(3)O_(4)/activated carbon(ZVI/Fe_(3)O_(4)/AC)composites were synthesized by ball milling and thermal treatment.A series of continuous flow column experiments and batch tests was conducted to evaluate the removal efficiency of Cr(Ⅵ).Results showed that the removal efficiency of Cr(Ⅵ)remained above 93%even when the bed volume(BV)reached 2000 under the operational parameters(iron/AC mass ratio,2:1;current,5 m A).The mechanism of Cr(Ⅵ)removal by the PRB-EK system was revealed through field emission scanning electron microscopy images,X-ray diffraction,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,Fe^(2+) concentration,and redox potential(E h)values.The key in Cr(Ⅵ)reduction was the Fe^(2+)/Fe^(3+) cycle driven by the surface microelectrolysis of the composites.The application of an externally supplied weak direct current maintained the redox process by enhancing the electron transfer capability of the system,thereby prolonging the column lifetime.Cr(Ⅵ)chemical speciation was determined through sequential extraction,verifying the stability and safety of the system.These findings provide a scientific basis for PRB design and the in-situ remediation of Cr(Ⅵ)-contaminated groundwater.

Remediation of Cu Contaminated Soil by Fe_(78)Si_(9)B_(13)^(AP)Permeability Reaction Barrier Combined with Electrokinetic Method

Iron-based amorphous crystalline powder Fe_(78)Si_(9)B_(13)^(AP)is used as a permeability reaction barrier(PRB)combined with an electrokinetic method(EK-PRB)to study the removal rate of Cu in contaminated soil.After treating Cucontaminated soil for 5 days under different voltage gradients and soil water content,the soil pH is between 3.1 and 7.2.The increase of voltage gradient and soil water content can effectively promote the movement of Cu^(2+) to the cathode.The voltage gradient is 3 V/cm,and the water content of 40%is considered to be an optional experimental condition.Therefore,under this condition,the effects of Fe_(78)Si_(9)B_(13)^(AP)and zero-valent iron(ZVI)as PRB on the removal rate of total Cu in soil and the transformation of chemical forms of Cu are studied.Compared with ZVI,Fe_(78)Si_(9)B_(13)^(AP)as PRB has a better remediation effect.EK-Fe_(78)Si_(9)B_(13)^(AP)can remove 80.3%of total Cu in soil,and the biologically available Cu is reduced to 3.6%,which effectively reduces the environmental risk of contaminated soil.

Construction and manipulation of origami-inspired tubular structures with controlled mechanical buckling for collection and transportation of microspheres based on optically induced electrokinetics

The development of microengineered hydrogels has opened up unlimited possibilities for designing complex structures at the microscale. In this study, we constructed an origami-inspired tubular structure with controlled mechanical buckling based on optically induced electrokinetics(OEK). By inducing a stress gradient in the thickness, a tubular structure can be formed from a poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate(PEGDA) hydrogel film of various shapes that have been custom fabricated. To achieve an ideal three-dimensional(3D) structure, the amplitude of the tubular structure can be controlled by adjusting the aspect ratios or polymerization time. Furthermore, the tubular structure can be manipulated for the collection and transportation of microspheres.In summary, we provide an effective method for designing 3D structures at the micro-nano scale. This forming method holds great potential for achieving various functions in tissue engineering, drug packaging, and transportation in the future.

Coagulation enhanced electrokinetic settling of mature fine oil sands tailings

The mature fine oil sand tailings(MFT) remain as slurry in the tailings pond for long time. The dewatering and consolidation of MFT for sustainable management is an important task for the mining industry. The objective of this study is to accelerate electrokinetic settling of MFT solids in suspensions in presence of optimal coagulant. In the first phase, optimal coagulant and coagulant dosage for settling of suspension are identified, i.e., ferric chloride at 350 mg/L. It is found that the chemical treatment is not much effective; the final solid content of the sediment is only 6.48% from an initial of 5%. In the second phase,combined coagulation and electrokinetic treatment is carried out to enhance the settling effect. The direct electric current is applied in continuous and intermittent modes on MFT suspensions placed in electrokinetic cell. The results show the final solid content reaches 23.74% under the combined application of350 mg/L ferric chloride and 218.75 V/m applied voltage gradient in the continuous mode. The intermittent current mode with 40% save in power consumption produces a settled sediment having 20.84% final solid content.

Automatic microcircuit formation based on gold-coated SU-8 microrods via dielectrophoresis

To explore the application of the characteristics of metallic microparticles, alternating current electric trapping of the SU-8 microrods coated with a thin gold layer by the chemical approach is investigated. Positive dielectrophoresis is used to absorb the gold-coated SU-8 microrods at the edge of the parallel electrodes, thereby forming chains to connect the electrodes. This is a fast automatic microcircuit formation process. Moreover, a non-charged molecule is modified on the surface of the gold-coated SU-8 microrod, and the modified microrods are controlled by the alternating electric field to form a number of chains. The different chains between the parallel electrodes consist of various parallel circuits. In order to compare these chains with different electric surfaces, the impedances of the metallic and modified microrods are measured and compared, and the results show that the gold-coated microrods act as pure resistors, while the microrods functionalized by a non-charged molecule behave as good capacitors.

Electrokinetic mixing of two fluids with equivalent conductivity

Electrokinetic(EK)micromixers have been widely studied in the past decade for biochemical applications,biological and chemical analysis,etc.Unfortunately,almost all EK mixers require different electrical conductivity between the two fluids to be mixed,which has greatly limited their wide applications,in cases where the two streams to be mixed have equivalent electrical conductivity.Here we show that mixing enhancement between two fluids with identical conductivity can be achieved in an EK micromixer with conductive sidewalls,where the electric field is in transverse direction of the flow.The results revealed that the mixing became stronger with increased conductivity value.This mixing method provides a novel and convenient strategy for mixing two liquids with the same or similar electrical conductivity in microfluidic systems,and could potentially serves as a powerful tool for sample preparation in applications such as liquid biopsy,and environmental monitoring,etc.

Seismoelectric Technology in Hydrogeophysics

The seismoelectrical method(also called the Electroseismic method or seismo-electric) is based on the generation of electromagnetic fields in soils and rocks by seismic waves.Although the method is not reported to detect groundwater flow,it does measure the hydraulic conductivity,which is related to permeability and,therefore,to the potential of groundwater flow.Electroseismic technology is an effective tool for the siting of water wells。

Understanding electrokinetic thermodynamics in nanochannels

Understanding the electrokinetic conversion efficiency in a nanochannel is vital for designing energy storage and conversion devices.In this paper,an analytical electrokinetic energy conversion efficiency in a nanochannel is obtained based on the linear electrokinetic response.The analytical result shows that the conversion efficiency has a maximum with the increasing of the nanochannel pore radius.Numerical solutions based on the Poisson-Nernst-Planck(PNP)and Navier-Stokes(NS)equations are used to confirm the analytical expressions.Besides,the influences of the pore radius and surface roughness on the conversion efficiency in nanochannels are also studied by the numerical calculations.In particular,the influences of the surface roughness on the fluid flow,streaming current and streaming potential are examined.The results show that the large bumps and grooves representing the roughness can hinder the fluid flows and ion transports in the nanochannels.The maximum efficiency in a smooth nanochannel is higher than that in a rough channel.However,the small bumps and grooves can increase the surface area of the channel,which is beneficial to improving the conversion efficiency in some cases.This research can provide theoretical guidance to design electrokinetic energy conversion devices.

分散液液微萃取-反相液液微萃取-扫集-胶束电动色谱法测定红酒中的3种氯酚类物质

建立了分散液液微萃取（DLLME）-反相液液微萃取（RP-LLME）-扫集-胶束电动色谱富集模型，并用于红酒中五氯酚（PCP）、2，4，6-三氯酚（TCP）和2，4-二氯酚（DCP）3种氯酚的测定。实验考察了两步微萃取的萃取参数对氯酚萃取率的影响和样品分离富集的电泳条件。最佳萃取条件 DLLME 为：3.5 mL 红酒（ pH 3.0，120 g / L NaCl），300μL 正己烷（萃取剂）；RP-LLME 为：25μL 0.16 mol / L NaOH（萃取剂）。最佳电泳条件：25 mmol / L NaH2 PO4，100 mmol / L 十二烷基硫酸钠（ SDS），30％（ v / v）乙腈，pH 2.3；分离电压-15 kV；样品基质为80 mmol / L NaH2 PO4；压力进样20 s×20.67 kPa（3 psi）。PCP 和 TCP 的线性范围为0.5～100μg / L（ r≥0.9910）， DCP 的线性范围为1.5～80μg / L（r =0.9851）。3种分析物的检出限（ S / N =3）为0.035～0.114μg / L，加标回收率为75.2％～104.7％，相对标准偏差≤6.17％。该方法富集倍数高、灵敏度高、重现性好、分析速度快，可为不同样品基质中痕量氯酚污染物及某些弱酸性有机污染物测定提供参考。

Electrochemical remediation of copper contaminated kaolinite by conditioning anolyte and catholyte pH simultaneously

This report examined electrochemical remediation of copper contaminated kaolinite by controlling electrolytes′ pH for both of anolyte and catholyte simultaneously. Results showed that electrokinetic process and remediation efficiency varied obviously when different buffer systems, including citric acid (test 1), nitric acid + EDTA (test 2) and nitric acid (test 3), were used to control catholyte pH and Na_2CO_3 was used at the same time to control all anolyte one. It was found that under such pH condition soil′s pH in soil column kept at 3.0—7.0 successfully, and correspondingly no copper precipitation and decrease of soil electroconductivity appeared, which are usually observed in electrokinetic process due to OH - introduction into soil column by electrochemical reaction occurred in cathode. Electroosmosis flow rates were almost equal for these three tests, indicating that these buffers did not affect Zeta-potential of kaolinite within the examined duration. More acid and basic solution was added into electrokinetic cell when nitric acid was used as buffer than when nitric acid + EDTA and then citric acid were used. Due to introduction of large amounts of ions into soil column, significant higher current was observed for test 3 than other two. Analysis of copper speciation and total quantity in kaolinite indicated that 22.5%, 23.74% and 55.65% Cu were removed from kaolinite for test 1, test 2 and test 3 respectively after only 10 days′ electrokinetic remediation.

A new numerical technique for simulating the coupled seismic and electromagnetic waves in layered porous media

Chen＇s technique of computing synthetic seismograms, which decomposes every vector with a set of basis of orthogonality and completeness before applying the Luco-Apsel-Chen （LAC） generalized reflection and transmission coefficients method, is confirmed to be efficient in dealing with elastic waves in multi-layered media and accurate in any frequency range. In this article, we extend Chen＇s technique to the computation of coupled seismic and electromagnetic （EM） waves in layered porous media. Expanding the involved mechanical and electromagnetic fields by a set of scalar and vector wave-function basis, we obtain the fundamental equations which are subsequently solved by using a recently developed version of the LAC generalized reflection and transmission coefficients method. Our approach and corresponding program is validated by reciprocity tests. We also show a numerical example of a two-layer model with an explosion source. The P-to-EM conversion waves radiated from the interface may have potential application.

Electrokinetic removal of chromium and copper from contaminated soils by lactic acid enhancement in the catholyte

The electrokinetic removal of chromium and copper from contaminated soils by adding lactic acid in cathode chamber as an enhancing reagent was evaluated. Two sets of duplicate experiments with chromium contaminated kaolinite and with a silty soil sampled from a superfund site in California of USA and polluted by Cr and Cu, were carried out in a constant current mode. Changes of soil water content and soil pH before and after the electrokinetic experiments, and variations of voltage drop and electroosmosis flow during the treatments were examined. The results indicated that Cr, spiked as Cr(Ⅵ) in the kaolinite, was accumulated mainly in the anode chamber, and some of Cr and metal hydroxides precipitated in the soil sections in contact with the cathode, which significantly increased electrical energy consumption. Treatment of the soil collected from the site showed accumulation of large amounts of Cr and Cu in the anode chamber while none was detected in the cathode one. The results suggested that the two metals either complexed with the injected lactic acid at the cathode or existed as negatively charged complex, and electromigrated toward the anode under a voltage gradient.

Electrokinetic flow in the U-shaped micro-nanochannels

U-shaped micro-nanochannels can generate significant flow disturbance as well as locally amplified electric field, which gives itself potential to be microfluidic mixers, electrokinetic pumps,and even cell lysis process. Numerical simulation is utilized in this work to study the hidden characteristics of the U-shaped micro-nanochannel system, and the effects of key controlling parameters(the external voltage and pressure) on the device output metrics(current, maximum values of electric field, shear stress and flow velocity) were evaluated. A large portion of current flowing through the whole system goes through the nanochannels, rather than the middle part of the microchannel, with its value increasing linearly with the increase of voltage. Due to the local ion depletion near micro-nanofluidic junction, significantly enhanced electric field(as much as 15 fold at V=1 V and P_0=0) as well as strong shear stress(leading to electrokinetic flow) is generated.With increasing external pressure, both electric field and shear stress can be increased initially(due to shortening of depletion region length), but are suppressed eventually at higher pressure due to the destruction of ion depletion layer. Insights gained from this study could be useful for designing nonlinear electrokinetic pumps and other systems.

Preparation and characterization of colloidal dispersions of graphene-like structures from different ranks of coals

This paper focuses on preparation of colloidal solution of graphene-like structures from different ranks of coals: brown coal,bituminous coal,low-volatile bituminous coal,anthracite. It was found that brown coal thermo-oxidative destruction leads to formation of small d = 32 nm( V = 17%) and large d = 122 nm( V = 11%) fractions of nanoparticles. The thermo-oxidative destruction of bituminous coal leads to formation of nanoparticles d = 50 nm( V = 5.2%) and d = 164 nm( V = 16%). Thermooxidative destruction of low-volatile bituminous coal and anthracite leads to formation of nanoparticles,predominantly,d = 122-190 nm. Carbon nanostructures obtained from coal are negatively charged at pH= 2-12. Colloidal solution of carbon nanostructures at dispersed phase concentration 0. 01 mg/mL is stable for 1 month. Electron diffraction patterns and X-ray analysis of carbon nanostructures showed that nanostructure from brown coal is amorphous and nanostructure from anthracite is crystalline. Results of coal macromolecules modeling and graphene-like structures obtained from them are presented.